Adventure Tibet and West China / Best Tibet tour operator.

The below words found in LP forumSome general thoughts on people's aversion to tours:'Tours' can range anywhere from what an ordinary sane person would consider a guided tour, to simply having a minder. In the latter case, the way it works is that instead of having intimidating police or spies follow you around and keep tabs on you, your 'guide' is responsible for this duty. That's not to say the guide is out to get you or make trouble for you, but the guide has a vested interest in avoiding trouble insomuch as they make large amounts of money doing what they do, and they risk losing their job/license if anything goes wrong. It works well for the authorities too because they can keep the threatening image toned down.If you book a tour with such a guide, you should be able to arrange whatever (legal) activities you want, at least within Lhasa city. I don't see any reason it has to be the sort of stuff you usually see on expensive guided tours. For example if you tell them your interest is going to the nagamas (Tibetan nightclubs) to drink and see the performances, that'll probably work out fine. In tense times, the guide may want to accompany you to make sure you're not having covert meetings with people that could get you/him in trouble. Otherwise you may be fine on your own as long as you check in with the guide now and then. The level of supervision demanded by the higher-ups really varies with changing times and tensions, and it's hard to know what to expect without the latest stories from other travelers... Design your own trip to TibetContact Us